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2023-24 Performances


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5.5 Season Average Rating
Appearances
48
Goals
15
Assists
13
Yellow cards
12
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I know what you mean…. But on closer inspection I actually think he’s the problem. The chaos coincides with his captaincy and mirrors his play. He doesn’t seem to be able to cultivate tactical maturity in the team…. Doesn’t smell danger, wears heart on sleeve counterproductively and can’t coach team on the pitch. Yes, the stats tell you a different story and he’s of course good enough to be out there for us but being captain in the engine room isn’t right for him. I’d play him wide right floating into 10.
These things are the managers problems.
 
These things are the managers problems.
Yep, he's clearly doing what the manager wants. As is the second midfielder who vacates midfield and leaves us isolated at the back. This happens way too much to be a personnel problem.

Also nothing wrong with giving the coventry keeper something back. If he didn't people would complain he's too soft / shows no character etc
 
Sometimes frustrating but mostly great footballer, one that would benefit from a half decent team and manager.
 
He deserves better than this shit
I’ve often thought this. Says a lot about the state of our club that we can feel sympathy for players whose careers are inevitably going to be wasted away. Sure, there's always going to be the allure of playing for United, but eeesh, would you really want to do it to yourself?
 
As many, many other people have tried to say: this squad has 99 problems but Bruno ain't one.

Put him in a better team and he'll look even better. His attitude is amazing, his effort is flawless and he has outstanding ability. He's not perfect, he's wasteful (the missed throughball to Garnarcho was criminal) but he's our best footballer. Next season will be better.
 
I honestly think he's our POTY even if this is far from his best. His only true competition is Dalot.
 
As many, many other people have tried to say: this squad has 99 problems but Bruno ain't one.

Yeah but Bruno is somewhat the cause of all those 99 problems though.

e.g: the amount of shots we concede. While it’s not Bruno’s fault directly but he is the reason we lose the ball so much to concede that many shots.

Now try that with other 98 problems and then come back.
 
I can't believe people don't see how reckless he is. My hatred for him has spiraled out of control, so I am of course very biased. Yes he would be better in a different more well functioned team, but so would all our other players as well. Just look at Sancho and Sabitzer.
 
Yeah but Bruno is somewhat the cause of all those 99 problems though.

e.g: the amount of shots we concede. While it’s not Bruno’s fault directly but he is the reason we lose the ball so much to concede that many shots.

Now try that with other 98 problems and then come back.
He completed 85 out of his 100 passes yesterday and we still conceded too many shots to Coventry.

Same with the Everton performance a few weeks ago where he completed 44 out of 51 passes, yet we still lacked any semblance of control in that game.

A lot of people on here seem to think that if we sold Bruno and replaced him with someone who was more neat and tidy on the ball, then we would become a more a successful team and would have more control in games. The reality is that we would lose all the positive things that he contributes to the team and we'd still lack control.
 
He completed 85 out of his 100 passes yesterday and we still conceded too many shots to Coventry.

Same with the Everton performance a few weeks ago where he completed 44 out of 51 passes, yet we still lacked any semblance of control in that game.

A lot of people on here seem to think that if we sold Bruno and replaced him with someone who was more neat and tidy on the ball, then we would become a more a successful team and would have more control in games. The reality is that we would lose all the positive things that he contributes to the team and we'd still lack control.
I agree with the bold statement. I think, for some people they channel their frustration too much on one player whose influence on the wide field of issues is therefor overstated to a degree.

I personally would consider to let him go anyway - but for more pragmatic reasons. There is the chance that if we fix the issues we have with control you are talking about, then he would stick out even more. We don't know whether that would be the case but the chances at least are there. Some on here admit he isn't perfect without actually acknowledging his weaknesses. Many don't really emphasize how rare it is these days to have a player that is at home in the 10 areas but is still as untidy on the ball. That combination is rare and while pressing gives less and less time and space on the ball, this weakness is really hurting him and it might very well be one of the reasons why his play feels rushed in many situations.

I would consider selling him because he is one of the players in our squad who would generate good amounts of funds. I think, he slowly gets into the same territory where Casemiro was when we bought him, his stock is high and while we won't challenge for anything in the next year probably next two years funds could help us to setup a team this summer that will compete at a point in time in 2 or 3 years.
I know it seems counter-intuitive and again, I am not advocating selling him at any price, but I think we have to act smart. He isn't going to get better and while he is probably Uniteds overall best player these days, that isn't really saying much (because for all his traits, there are many teams out there who don't have such a player and still are more productive than we are) and I think it is a pretty safe bet to state that at 29 he isn't part of a successful United future. Moving away from us he also might get the chance to add to his personal trophy cabinet, something even I think he deserves.

The sooner the club realizes the recruitment of the last years led to another dead end (to a degree) the better and the more proactive we could act from the summer onwards. You just saw the mess, ETH tried to marry evolution/modernization and providing short term success and while it the project floated decently in season 1, it likely is going to sink after season 2 because he can't deliver success while simultaneously not looking as if his ideas are going anywhere. And one reason is that his ideas aren't working out because the squad composition is such a mess.
 
Love how he shut the Coventry keeper (who was trying to put him off) up. Would love to hear what he was saying to him after he scored
 
Can't embed the link but:

"Since joining Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes has scored or assisted 140 goals (77 goals & 63 assists), more than any other midfielder in Europe's Top 5 Leagues."

https:// twitter.com/statmandave/status/1782074275681251477
 
I agree with the bold statement. I think, for some people they channel their frustration too much on one player whose influence on the wide field of issues is therefor overstated to a degree.

I personally would consider to let him go anyway - but for more pragmatic reasons. There is the chance that if we fix the issues we have with control you are talking about, then he would stick out even more. We don't know whether that would be the case but the chances at least are there. Some on here admit he isn't perfect without actually acknowledging his weaknesses. Many don't really emphasize how rare it is these days to have a player that is at home in the 10 areas but is still as untidy on the ball. That combination is rare and while pressing gives less and less time and space on the ball, this weakness is really hurting him and it might very well be one of the reasons why his play feels rushed in many situations.

I would consider selling him because he is one of the players in our squad who would generate good amounts of funds. I think, he slowly gets into the same territory where Casemiro was when we bought him, his stock is high and while we won't challenge for anything in the next year probably next two years funds could help us to setup a team this summer that will compete at a point in time in 2 or 3 years.
I know it seems counter-intuitive and again, I am not advocating selling him at any price, but I think we have to act smart. He isn't going to get better and while he is probably Uniteds overall best player these days, that isn't really saying much (because for all his traits, there are many teams out there who don't have such a player and still are more productive than we are) and I think it is a pretty safe bet to state that at 29 he isn't part of a successful United future. Moving away from us he also might get the chance to add to his personal trophy cabinet, something even I think he deserves.

The sooner the club realizes the recruitment of the last years led to another dead end (to a degree) the better and the more proactive we could act from the summer onwards. You just saw the mess, ETH tried to marry evolution/modernization and providing short term success and while it the project floated decently in season 1, it likely is going to sink after season 2 because he can't deliver success while simultaneously not looking as if his ideas are going anywhere. And one reason is that his ideas aren't working out because the squad composition is such a mess.
We're not at a stage where we should consider selling Bruno to meet FFP, as we have plenty of other sellable assets who aren't contributing anywhere near as much as Bruno. I think with a competent DoF this summer then we can finally start selling players for decent fees. Look at Chelsea - they manage to get rid of some dross every summer for decent fees.

I don't think this it's unrealistic to think that we could recoup 150m in player sales this summer if Ashworth and his team use their connections in the market to drum up interest in certain players. Indulge me, and let's say we were able to sell the following players this summer:

Maguire to West Ham - 20m
Mctominay to West Ham - 40m
Sancho to Dortmund - 20m
Rashford to PSG - 60m
Casemiro to Saudi - 25m (baring in mind Liverpool got 40m for a washed up Fabinho)
Wan Bissaka - 15m
Hannibal - 20m

That's potentially 200m in player sales. You might claim that's optimistic, but even you were to lower the fees for a few of those players, and if Ashworth and his team were only able to bring in around 150m in sales, then would you still want us to sell Bruno? To me, that seems illogical when he contributes so much to the team.
 
Yeah but Bruno is somewhat the cause of all those 99 problems though.

e.g: the amount of shots we concede. While it’s not Bruno’s fault directly but he is the reason we lose the ball so much to concede that many shots.

Now try that with other 98 problems and then come back.

That’s absolute nonsense, we conceded 16 shots against a fecking Championship side yesterday and our number 10 completed 85 of his 100 passes, the most by far of any midfielder on the pitch. Of those he made 9 key passes, the most of anyone on the pitch.

Yet despite that, the shit show that is Manchester United continue to concede a feck tonne of shots.

Most often if you watch, it’s just a piece of piss to make one pass and break our entire lines, passing into that huge gap between our base midfielders and our defence. There’s simply no attacking midfielder in the World that would be some solution to the ridiculous number of shots we concede and the suggestion is absolutely preposterous.
 
Bruno is the absolute least of our problems. I mean just look at yesterday.

He's an attacking midfielder and he gets a goal, an assist, almost scores a screamer when he smashes it against the bar from outside the area, scores his penalty to put us ahead in the shootout for the first time. Completed 85 out of 100 passes.

What more could he have done yesterday?
 
Love how he shut the Coventry keeper (who was trying to put him off) up. Would love to hear what he was saying to him after he scored

Right before it cuts to the replay, between 5:16-5:18, I think he says "that's what happens", but I'm no lip reading expert!
 
I wonder how the people who want us to sell Bruno imagine the conversation going down... B = Bruno, X = whoever does the talk:

B: ... so my services are no longer required and you want me to look for a new club?
X: That's right, yes.
B: Well that's both disappointing and surprising. May I ask why? I feel that I'm still a top performer.
X: Oh you are! You might even be our best player honestly.
B: Ok... But it can't be a fitness issue because I'm never injured. And I know for sure that I work hard!
X: No disagreements there!
B: Well what is it then? Is it my attitude? I can't help occasionally raising my arms. It's an illness, you know that!
X: To be honest, I don't care about the arm-raising. Only weirdos do. And Manchester United never hire weirdos.
B: Ok, I'm losing my mind here. What is the reason? Is the club struggling financially?
X: Well... Not really... But if you could go to Saudi Arabia for 100 million that would definitely help us a lot.
B: I'm not going to Saudi Arabia.
X: Shit... Hmm, well we can't sell you to a rival. And I'm not sure if Real, Barca or Bayern would sign you. I guess another top team in the Bundesliga would want you. Or perhaps an Italian team? Or a midtable PL team?
B: Don't they typically pay 30 million at most? And that's typically for players younger than me who could be worth far more in the future.
X: That sounds about right.
B: Would you really sell your best player for 30 million? That seems pretty small time.
X: Actually it's not! Have you seen how Real cleverly sold Varane and Casemiro to idiot buyers?
B: Ok, but YOU are that idiot buyer. And secondly, when Real sold these players they still had 7 or 8 equally good or better players in the squad, with guaranteed quality incoming! The situations cannot be compared!
X: But we're Manchester United... WAAAAAAA!
 
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Right before it cuts to the replay, between 5:16-5:18, I think he says "that's what happens", but I'm no lip reading expert!


Love Bruno, he can be incredibly frustrating but anyone who thinks he's the problem is bonkers.

How did their keeper not get booked for that?
 
We're not at a stage where we should consider selling Bruno to meet FFP, as we have plenty of other sellable assets who aren't contributing anywhere near as much as Bruno. I think with a competent DoF this summer then we can finally start selling players for decent fees. Look at Chelsea - they manage to get rid of some dross every summer for decent fees.

I don't think this it's unrealistic to think that we could recoup 150m in player sales this summer if Ashworth and his team use their connections in the market to drum up interest in certain players. Indulge me, and let's say we were able to sell the following players this summer:

Maguire to West Ham - 20m
Mctominay to West Ham - 40m
Sancho to Dortmund - 20m
Rashford to PSG - 60m
Casemiro to Saudi - 25m (baring in mind Liverpool got 40m for a washed up Fabinho)
Wan Bissaka - 15m
Hannibal - 20m

That's potentially 200m in player sales. You might claim that's optimistic, but even you were to lower the fees for a few of those players, and if Ashworth and his team were only able to bring in around 150m in sales, then would you still want us to sell Bruno? To me, that seems illogical when he contributes so much to the team.
I see your point and it wouldn't be an easy choice for me with your scenario. But I guess, even then it would depend on the offer we got. I mean, if we would receive an offer in excess of 60 million, that certainly would lure me away I guess. I actually agree to the Regulus poster who said what players we need, we need a reliable striker to take the pressure off Hojlund, we certainly need 1 starting CM, another one with starting eleven quality would be good, we need at least one starting CB, probably a 2nd. A leftback would be good and another winger with great dribbling ability and speed and end product would be a good shout as well. And that is mostly first team needs. Not even thinking about bench options. And no, I actually think, we should really try to bring that in in one summer to really start over. That means we need cash. And the window of opportunity with Bruno is starting to close already. The summer after the next I think will be the last year on his contract and he'll be 30. Then the chance is gone. And even in a magic world where all the other issues of the squad aren't around, now would be a smart point in time to think about bringing in somebody to take over from him. With that bleak outlook, I'd say feck it, use next season as melting pot and plan from 2025-2026 onwards...

I see your point though, all the players you mentioned would definitely be higher on my list. Chip in 5mio for VDB as well.

I wonder how the people who want us to sell Bruno imagine the conversation going down... B = Bruno, X = whoever does the talk:

B: ... so my services are no longer required and you want me to look for a new club?
X: That's right, yes.
B: Well that's both disappointing and surprising. May I ask why? I feel that I'm still a top performer.
X: Oh you are! You might even be our best player honestly.
B: Ok... But it can't be a fitness issue because I'm never injured. And I know for sure that I work hard!
X: No disagreements there!
B: Well what is it then? Is it my attitude? I can't help occasionally raising my arms. It's an illness, you know that!
X: To be honest, I don't care about the arm-raising. Only weirdos do. And Manchester United never hire weirdos.
B: Ok, I'm losing my mind here. What is the reason? Is the club struggling financially?
X: Well... Not really... But if you could go to Saudi Arabia for 100 million that would definitely help us a lot.
B: I'm not going to Saudi Arabia.
X: Shit... Hmm, well we can't sell you to a rival. And I'm not sure if Real, Barca or Bayern would sign you. I guess another top team in the Bundesliga would want you. Or perhaps an Italian team? Or a midtable PL team?
B: Don't they typically pay 30 million at most? And that's typically for players younger than me who could be worth far more in the future.
X: That sounds about right.
B: Would you really sell your best player for 30 million? That seems pretty small time.
X: Actually it's not! Have you seen how Real cleverly sold Varane and Casemiro to idiot buyers?
B: Ok, but YOU are that idiot buyer. And secondly, when Real sold these players they still had 7 or 8 equally good or better players in the squad, with guaranteed quality incoming! The situations cannot be compared!
X: But we're Manchester United... WAAAAAAA!
If that is supposed to be funny, than understand my response as irrelevant. If not, then I guess most people wouldn't want to sell him for only 30 million. And the reasoning towards the player would be really easy for me personally
X: Mate, you deserve to play somewhere where you have the chance to win a title or two. That isn't us. We have to start a new chapter and while we are thankful for your contributions, right now we want to put our attention to creating the best possible start to re-invent Manchester United.
 
I guess most people wouldn't want to sell him for only 30 million.

Then they don't want to sell him, because that is likely to be the reality. The likes of Dortmund, Inter or West Ham for that matter isn't paying much more than 30 million for a 30 year old unless he's Messi or something. And that's assuming that either Bruno wants to leave or the club wants to sell him to begin with. Both of which are highly unlikely.

X: Mate, you deserve to play somewhere where you have the chance to win a title or two. That isn't us.

Sorry, but this is peak "it's not you, it's me" :lol: Bruno seems fully committed to us. And I'm not sure what you mean by "title". If it's not PL, CL, La Liga etc, then it's hardly an enticing proposition for Bruno.

right now we want to put our attention to creating the best possible start to re-invent Manchester United.

I still don't understand why that start must be without Bruno when he's arguably the least of our problems. If he loses his energy, starts getting injured or someone else step up, then we put him on the bench. It's as simple as that. His current skill and dedication means that it's worth the "risk" of losing out on 30 million this summer.
 
Then they don't want to sell him, because that is likely to be the reality. The likes of Dortmund, Inter or West Ham for that matter isn't paying much more than 30 million for a 30 year old unless he's Messi or something. And that's assuming that either Bruno wants to leave or the club wants to sell him to begin with. Both of which are highly unlikely.
I agree. It is pretty unlikely. I'd still try it though. Because in two years time it isn't about selling him anymore, it is about giving him a new contract or not.

Sorry, but this is peak "it's not you, it's me" :lol:
Now that you say it, I hear it too :D

Bruno seems fully committed to us. And I'm not sure what you mean by "title". If it's not PL, CL, La Liga etc, then it's hardly an enticing proposition for Bruno.
I don't think, he would snub the chance on a Bundesliga title or Serie A. And I think, but I am fully aware that this is my personal perception, Bruno is clever enough to know how to present himself. That means, even he would switch clubs, he would look fully committed to them as well. He is also smart enough to do the "look busy stuff" and chase shadows for half a game when all it does is creating gaps behind him. Players know how their actions are perceived by fans. And a player being fully committed also wouldn't really something that would cause any hesitation on my part when executing something I consider a smart and/or pragmatic decision.

I still don't understand why that start must be without Bruno when he's arguably the least of our problems. If he loses his energy, starts getting injured or someone else step up, then we put him on the bench. It's as simple as that. His current skill and dedication means that it's worth the "risk" of losing out on 30 million this summer.
I think, that is a valid standpoint. We don't know for sure - you think he is the least of our problems, I think he is one in a long list that is not perceived as that much of a problem because he one of the few players in our squad who actually does have any upsides. You would be fine missing out on 30 million - I probably wouldn't be. Although I'll give it to you, when we would be talking about 30 million, I'd certainly pick another battle to fight. I am not too sure though about that number, just look how many fans he has, vocal ones as well. Stats apparently also speak for him. And then it is only 30 million? Sounds incongruent to me. But on the same hand, I wouldn't be able to name a club who'd take him these days and pays more. Maybe PSG.

Do you have a number in mind? What about an offer of 50 million? Would you consider it? That certainly would be fat yes from my side.
 
I wonder how the people who want us to sell Bruno imagine the conversation going down... B = Bruno, X = whoever does the talk:

B: ... so my services are no longer required and you want me to look for a new club?
X: That's right, yes.
B: Well that's both disappointing and surprising. May I ask why? I feel that I'm still a top performer.
X: Oh you are! You might even be our best player honestly.
B: Ok... But it can't be a fitness issue because I'm never injured. And I know for sure that I work hard!
X: No disagreements there!
B: Well what is it then? Is it my attitude? I can't help occasionally raising my arms. It's an illness, you know that!
X: To be honest, I don't care about the arm-raising. Only weirdos do. And Manchester United never hire weirdos.
B: Ok, I'm losing my mind here. What is the reason? Is the club struggling financially?
X: Well... Not really... But if you could go to Saudi Arabia for 100 million that would definitely help us a lot.
B: I'm not going to Saudi Arabia.
X: Shit... Hmm, well we can't sell you to a rival. And I'm not sure if Real, Barca or Bayern would sign you. I guess another top team in the Bundesliga would want you. Or perhaps an Italian team? Or a midtable PL team?
B: Don't they typically pay 30 million at most? And that's typically for players younger than me who could be worth far more in the future.
X: That sounds about right.
B: Would you really sell your best player for 30 million? That seems pretty small time.
X: Actually it's not! Have you seen how Real cleverly sold Varane and Casemiro to idiot buyers?
B: Ok, but YOU are that idiot buyer. And secondly, when Real sold these players they still had 7 or 8 equally good or better players in the squad, with guaranteed quality incoming! The situations cannot be compared!
X: But we're Manchester United... WAAAAAAA!
Of course we could... Bar Chelsea he would not start for any of our rivals.
 
Of course we could... Bar Chelsea he would not start for any of our rivals.

Yeah, well it doesn't really matter for my analogy. Whether we would sell to Liverpool or whether Liverpool would want to sign Bruno makes no difference in the end if the answer to one or both is "no".
 
Bar Chelsea he would not start for any of our rivals.
He absolutely would start for Liverpool ahead of Szoboszlai. He would start for Spurs ahead of Bentancur. I'm also pretty certain he would start for Arsenal ahead of Jorginho or Havertz. City is the only PL team he'd struggle to start for.
 
If you're on here posting that he was wrong to say anything to the coventry keeper, then im afraid you're very simply biased against him and need to be better at separating your feelings about him as a player and captain, from individual incidents. The coventry keeper was a disgrace and somehow escaped a booking prior to Fernandes penalty. Fernandes was absolutely right to very calmly put him in his place.

The double standard applied in light of certain incidents yesterday is incredible. Any attitutde towards 'little old coventry and their team of good honest footballers' is condemned as a mortal sin, while the game raising giving it the big one from several of their players is just completely ignored. feck them, they were hardly in the match for 72 minutes and then we capitulated. Same heroes got battered by 22nd placed Birmingham last week, but were happy to try tell united fans and players who's boss.

The self hatred of united fans is just hard to fathom, do you not think we get enough from outside. feck everybody else.
 
I can't believe people don't see how reckless he is. My hatred for him has spiraled out of control, so I am of course very biased. Yes he would be better in a different more well functioned team, but so would all our other players as well. Just look at Sancho and Sabitzer.
Mate, Sancho is not doing better, just go look at his stats.
 
He absolutely would start for Liverpool ahead of Szoboszlai. He would start for Spurs ahead of Bentancur. I'm also pretty certain he would start for Arsenal ahead of Jorginho or Havertz. City is the only PL team he'd struggle to start for.
I'm sorry for starting this discussion as it's probably a pointless one, but I do believe you'd have trouble finding any Liverpool fan wanting Bruno over Szobozlai. Perhaps you'd have a point with Havertz, who's closer as a player.
 
I'm sorry for starting this discussion as it's probably a pointless one, but I do believe you'd have trouble finding any Liverpool fan wanting Bruno over Szobozlai. Perhaps you'd have a point with Havertz, who's closer as a player.
You'd struggle to find any Liverpool fan who would be willing to admit that because they all hate Bruno and his shithousery. However, if Klopp had signed him then he'd be a guaranteed starter. Szobozlai has been wank for a while now after an early purple patch at the start of the season. He's been dropped for the past two league games due to a string of poor performances culminating in a hilariously bad display vs Atalanta.
 
Regardless of what you think of him he is 29 and his replacement in the team should be planned
 
He would clearly play a great number of games for both Liverpool and Arsenal and likely as a key starter for both. At city he would also play plenty of football, but wouldn’t be the main man ahead of De Bruyne. You only have to watch him for Portugal to realise though, he’s even better when surrounded by proper quality players.
 
We're not at a stage where we should consider selling Bruno to meet FFP, as we have plenty of other sellable assets who aren't contributing anywhere near as much as Bruno. I think with a competent DoF this summer then we can finally start selling players for decent fees. Look at Chelsea - they manage to get rid of some dross every summer for decent fees.

I don't think this it's unrealistic to think that we could recoup 150m in player sales this summer if Ashworth and his team use their connections in the market to drum up interest in certain players. Indulge me, and let's say we were able to sell the following players this summer:

Maguire to West Ham - 20m
Mctominay to West Ham - 40m
Sancho to Dortmund - 20m
Rashford to PSG - 60m
Casemiro to Saudi - 25m (baring in mind Liverpool got 40m for a washed up Fabinho)
Wan Bissaka - 15m
Hannibal - 20m

That's potentially 200m in player sales. You might claim that's optimistic, but even you were to lower the fees for a few of those players, and if Ashworth and his team were only able to bring in around 150m in sales, then would you still want us to sell Bruno? To me, that seems illogical when he contributes so much to the team.
You're a dreamer. We won't even get half of that in sales
 
He is arguably our best and often our worst player.

I agree that he often looks like he cares the most and tries the hardest but manic energy isn't necessarily what a team needs.

His Captain Chaos performances make him stand out due to the rest of our players being so crap.

In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king
 
You're a dreamer. We won't even get half of that in sales
I know it's easy to be pessimistic in our current situation, however the estimated fees I put alongside each of those players represents fair market value, with the exception of Casemiro but I've factored in the Saudi's track record of overspending on washed up players. Now that Ratcliffe has assembled a competent structure, I'm confident we'll see us getting good value for money for our transfers for the first time in 11 years now that we no longer have clowns like Woodward and Murtough doing the negotiating.
 
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